“It’s not a special package where we have an Earl Wolff defense. He’s going to go out there and play safety.”

Kelly implied the duo wouldn’t be rotated … which is news to them.

“Any chance I get on the field I’m just going to play ball and make as many plays as I can,” Allen said. “(Rotating?) I don’t know exactly what we’re doing Monday night. But yeah, I guess.”

Whoever is on the strong side teams with free safety Patrick Chung. And he better bring his big boy pants because 219-pound Redskins running back Alfred Morris packs a wallop.

“Forty percent of the time the ball is in Alfred Morris’ hands,” said Wolff, who lists at 210 pounds. “And basically we’re looking to stopping the run and playing the pass, honestly.”

Wolff says he’s getting comfortable recognizing formations and pass routes. The next step is to put it together on the field.

“I obviously feel like me and Nate are probably going to get like I would, say, an equal opportunity on the field Monday night,” Wolff said. “I don’t know exactly how much I’ll play but I’m going to be ready and take advantage of each opportunity.”

* * *

It’s been a while since Kelly has been an underdog.

We’re talking 23 months and 18 games according to Bovada.lv because Kelly and the Eagles are three-point dogs to the Redskins.

“We don’t pay attention to that,” Kelly said. “I’ve never looked at we were the favorite or we were the underdog. I don’t go in there telling our guys what the point spread is. And I don’t think any player’s mindset is like that.”

At Oregon, Kelly’s Ducks were the team to beat almost every week they played.

The last time the Kelly-led Ducks were underdogs was Nov. 12, 2011. The Stanford Cardinal was favored by 2 1-2 points that day, but the Ducks triumphed 53-30. The over-under was 70 1-2 points.

The Ducks went 15-2 in games they were favored in under Kelly as they lost to Stanford, 17-14 in overtime last year, and to USC, 38-35.

“We didn’t really follow that stuff,” said wide receiver Jeff Maehl, who played for Kelly at Oregon. “We just took it as a challenge each week and tried to win that game. That’s the philosophy of taking one game at a time.”

The opener probably won’t be the last time the Eagles are on the wrong side of the point spread. But don’t look for them to embrace the age-old nobody gives us a chance theme.

“We don’t view ourselves as underdogs,” Maehl said. “We’re going out there to win a game. And that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”

* * *

One of the awkward moments in Robert Griffin III’s conference call was explaining why he didn’t go to Oregon, where Kelly coached.

When Griffin was asked if he got to know Kelly during the process, he responded “No, not too much.

“I’ve met coach a few times and we’ve talked,” Griffin said. “I’ve always been a big fan of what he’s done at Oregon with the offense and what he’s done just being a football coach.

“It wasn’t Baylor all along. I thought about going to Oregon. Things just didn’t work out. But it was nothing against Coach.”

Kelly later told media covering the Redskins Griffin didn’t make a visit to Eugene, Ore.

“We talked to him in the springtime, and then he committed early,” Kelly said. “He never visited or anything so it’s not a big recruiting story. He never came on a visit, never came up to our campus so we never really did anything more. I think we talked to him on the phone and that was it.

NOTES

Offensive tackle Dennis Kelly (back) is out this week per Coach Kelly. Dennis was stretching and jogging at practice Wednesday. A month ago he had lower back surgery … Cornerback Curtis Marsh (broken hand) is unlikely to play Monday but that might change after a doctor’s appointment … Chip Kelly said the final roster reflected the importance of backups being solid special teams contributors. For example, you can assume the Eagles considered Maehl a better special teams player than Greg Salas, and so on … Three Oregon players are on the 53-man roster, two more on the practice squad. The obvious benefit is comfort, right? “If we were going to sing the Oregon fight song, it would,” Kelly said. “But besides that I’m familiar with them and I know what they can do.”